The last two football matches I saw before this week were Cardiff vs QPR, and Fulham vs Cardiff. Two performances from the Bluebirds that made me care less if football didn’t exist. The lethargy in absolutely every single part of the players effort and mine colouring the experience like a dull Instagram filter. This week I changed tack, and owing to the great fortune of working … Continue reading FC Barcelona vs Celtic, 7-0
I was 10 years old in 1998, a prime age for an impressionable boy to try and copy his heroes. That summer was the summer of World Cup ’98 in France, England carried with them an aging squad of players who only two years previously had come a Paul Gascoigne left foot away from a European Championship final. Whilst that team’s core of Shearer, Ince, Seaman … Continue reading The Adidas Accelerator: The greatest.
Last night I was part of the biggest crowd I’ve ever experienced at a football match, nearly 100,000 people in the Camp Nou, Barcelona for a Champions League quarter-final. Barcelona played Atletico Madrid, starting with the same eleven players that won the competition in June last year. The teams occupy the first and second spots in La Liga, with Barca having the best attack (it’s true.) … Continue reading Pilgrimage To The Camp Nou
This time last week, I knew of only two lower league clubs in Spain, one in Murcia, who came to my attention after winning promotion last season, and another, from Asturias whom I knew virtually nothing about. After seeing a picture of one of the fans’ banners (below) based on Pulp’s ‘Different Class’ album cover, I had a quick Google to see what they were … Continue reading Keepin’ The Faith Since 1946
We heard this week how Manchester United are letting local rivals City have first refusal on the Bayern Munich manager and thinking-man’s football-God Pep Guardiola. Should the Catalonian decide to leave Munich for pastures Blighty, the smart money is on him starting a new ‘project’ at The Etihad. Of course, football journalists see little point in letting his story go un-serialised, so December has seen … Continue reading Why Messi and Guardiola Won’t Be Reuniting Any Time Soon
On Tuesday night, Bayern Munich fans, protesting against Arsenal’s ticket prices, boycotted the first 6 minutes of their club’s 0-2 loss in North London. Bayern fans had to pay sixty four pounds for a ticket, which is over quarter the cost of a Bayern season ticket in the Bundesliga. Whilst British Premier League fans will pay this seemingly without hesitation, their German counter parts are … Continue reading Football Without Fans Is Nothing
For almost 15 years, every ‘who is the best manager’ debate has included the same names; Sir Alex, Carlo Ancelotti, Arsene Wenger etc, yet since 2008, when Pep Guardiola replaced Frank Rijkaard as manager of FC Barcelona, a dichotomy was formed for the title with the then manager of Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho interned at FC Porto and Chelsea before heading to Serie A where … Continue reading Mourinho On The Ropes
After a slow start to the season in which he went 9 games (including friendlies and internationals) without a goal, Cristiano Ronaldo now has 8 goals in 2 games including a ‘glut’ at Espanol last weekend. Could this be the season that Madrid’s star attraction cements his place as the ‘Best Player In The World’? Last season, some fans felt the argument was settled between … Continue reading Ronaldo vs Messi: Volume 145,024,155
Chances are you are already aware of what’s been happening with Wales’ men’s first 11, but if you’ve become so disillusioned with international football that that you’ve genuinely not been following the Euro 2016 qualification campaign, let me give you a quick summary: In August 2011, Shortly after a home defeat in a friendly to Australia and just 6 months after the appointment of Gary … Continue reading Today’s the day. Part one. #TOGETHERSTRONGER
Last season, after a difficult first semester, FC Barcelona powered through in the second half of the season to take the second treble in their history. Despite turmoil in the dressing room and the board room, constant questions over the suitability of their manager and more questions than ever over the future of the world’s greatest player, FCB powered through to deliver three titles that … Continue reading La Liga, la mejor liga del mundo?
El Rondo 